LOVE or HATE FP+ Anyone's mind been changed ??

[Laketravis]

Okay, now here's the latest sign of the times - using two computers as part of your FP+ reservation strategy:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/two-computers-signed-into-same-mde-at-the-same-time.3385322/

I hope we are past the point to where the suggestion of pavlovian marketing techniques are met with feigned indignation or insult and claims that I'm referring to WDW guests as dogs (I'm not) because such marketing philosophies do exist and I think this latest example illustrates how successful Disney has been in creating a neutral stimulus that causes a formerly unconditioned response.


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[Luckybee]

Then WDW is truly a waste of your money if all you're interested in is the 3fp+ attractions you reserve. Unless of course you're satisfied with that- because that's all that is required- that you're happy with what you get. I wouldn't be, but that's me and of course I know there is much more to do that I enjoy than ride 3 headliners.

Well as you know, we were not satisfied with that since we've been down this road before. But I also wasn't going to be "satisfied" spending hours in lines for secondary rides that we would have done because of the much longer standby lines that we had seen than from any trip in the past during slow season. So we actually chose to spend more days in the parks for very brief periods...and then on to other non Disney things(sort of like "more for less " ). We know that short trips to Disney will no longer work for us if we want to do very many attractions.

 

[flicx]

We know that short trips to Disney will no longer work for us if we want to do very many attractions.

That is how I see things working for my wife and I.

 

[Luckybee]

Okay, now here's the latest sign of the times - using two computers as part of your FP+ reservation strategy:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/two-computers-signed-into-same-mde-at-the-same-time.3385322/

Omg...this takes me back to when Air Canada used to release their Aeroplan points tickets always at exactly at certain time on a certain day. We always went to Hawaii and flew in biz on points. I'd have 3 phones going at the same time to be the first to call in(only 2 seats were usually released per day)....lol. It did work though Too funny(and sad) that this is now perceived as being needed for fp's

 

[Laketravis]

We know that short trips to Disney will no longer work for us if we want to do very many attractions.

That is how I see things working for my wife and I.

We were thinking that way as well, which is why our one week trips to WDW grew into two week trips. But that is getting to be problematic as DS9 gets older and we can't take him out of school as much (if at all!) and is why we are looing to see if we can make several shorter trips a year for equal or less than the cost of what we've previously spent. So far, that's looking pretty doable economically but practically we've yet to experience it. Our trip next week and again in June will help me decide if several shorter trips throughout the year (like three or four day extended weekends) can be worth it from a fulfillment point of view.


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[Shaden]

You do not have to experience it to understand what it takes to use it. Fuzzy still perpetuating the running all over the park to pull passes thing? I totally understand the system, I've read' looked into and studied the whole process. I see it as bad for my experience. Not good. Glad it works for you. Cake I did not liken being at Disney to being hit in the head with a bat. Best read that again. I was simply stating I can read and gather data as to what is occurring with out experiencing it!

Yes, its my favourite part about Fuzzy, who tries to call out other people for hyperbole and any inaccuracy, and who basically tells people if they aren't getting the same amount out of FP+ they just don't use the system well enough ... and yet they constantly bring up the supposed flaws of FP- such they spent too much time under the old system "running across the parks" or all the time they spent "standing in line to pull FP-"

Seriously though, its a pretty bad attempt at spin. We never had to do this, we just toured the parks, picked up tons of FP-s and spent quite literally a measure of seconds doing so, and anyone could have followed suit. As I noted elsewhere, the worst case I ever experienced was standing behind someone with handfuls of passes pulling FPs, and I started to wonder after like 30 seconds what was up, so I just changed to another machine and grabbed FPs in a few seconds, like usual. Did we ever crisscross the park ? Sure, rarely but yes we did on occasion. I mean the walk between Soarin and TT is I guess technically crisscrossing the park. But this was never main form of our touring, nor was it to send a "runner", though again on occasion someone might have done this, but only a couple times on any given trip.

Meanwhile under FP+, we have spent 10s of minutes in lines at Kiosks, and have found ourselves crisscrossing the parks first to get to a kiosk, and then to get to the FP that was available from the kiosk.
And as for crisscrossing, the last trip though the whole party had to crisscross, everyone had to travel to the Kiosk, to find out what was available, book it, then travel there. To be fair we began with a "kiosk runner", but then I would have to run back to the group, and tell them where the next attraction was (without their input, since they weren't with me at the kiosk) and then backtrack and crisscross the park again with the whole group.

There are some elements of FP+ that I like, and some things I really don't like and its fair to point either of those out. But its not fair to pretend like under FP- you had to do a ton of crisscrossing, and under FP+ you don't and under FP- you had to spend a bunch of time in line pulling FPs (lol) and under FP+ you don't.

 

[Luckybee]

We were thinking that way as well, which is why our one week trips to WDW grew into two week trips. But that is getting to be problematic as DS9 gets older and we can't take him out of school as much (if at all!) and is why we are looing to see if we can make several shorter trips a year for equal or less than the cost of what we've previously spent. So far, that's looking pretty doable economically but practically we've yet to experience it. Our trip next week and again in June will help me decide if several shorter trips throughout the year (like three or four day extended weekends) can be worth it from a fulfillment point of view.


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We use to do the odd longer trip, and quite a few short ones. We generally go to Aruba once or twice a year now and we would always book flights with a stop going to or from. That isnt in the plans any longer specifically and only because of fp+. We had this coming May booked already for Orlando(and we've changed from a mainly Disney to mainly Universal) and we have the following May planned for a Fla. itinerary which will perhaps involve Orlando. After that I expect our trips involving Orlando will become significantly less. I know that our trip in Nov/Dec to Aruba will not involve a stop in Fla and that will be the first time in over 15 yrs. It just isn't worth it for us because of fp+

 

[cakebaker]

Okay, now here's the latest sign of the times - using two computers as part of your FP+ reservation strategy:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/two-computers-signed-into-same-mde-at-the-same-time.3385322/

I hope we are past the point to where the suggestion of pavlovian marketing techniques are met with feigned indignation or insult and claims that I'm referring to WDW guests as dogs (I'm not) because such marketing philosophies do exist and I think this latest example illustrates how successful Disney has been in creating a neutral stimulus that causes a formerly unconditioned response.


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There have always been people on the Dis who go totally overboard in their techniques. 2 monitors is just silly and unneccesary, but if they enjoy it- why not. There was a time when people would make reservations for Cinderella's Castle for character dining- then synchronize with others to drop them and the other person pick them up. I thought it was a little crazy- we just called and made reservations. But people seem to like the idea of "winning" at a game of some kind, so they create one. No harm, no foul.

 

[wisblue]

You know that a thread has gotten too long when people start laying out their vacation plans for the next year for the second time in the thread.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The increase quote was for another poster. If you read my post I said no thank you to the budget help.

That was very clear. My post remains.

 

[lovin'fl]

I haven't read this crazy long thread. I will just say that I went from being hesitant/grumpy about FP+ (when it just began and before I used it), to liking FP+ and then back to not liking it...full circle. It is fantastic for trips with just DH and I, period (he and I can schedule easily for the 2 of us and we like to do rope drop and ride a ton of stuff and then save FP+ for a 2nd park later in the day...perfecto). But in family or group trips, it is a PITA. We have an Aug trip coming and I have my family's PAPs and SIL has hers and we booked our DVC villas but my friends are staying off site and don't have park tickets and like to wait until last minute. We added them to our resie so they can do EMH with us and make FP+ resies with us but we have a hard time linking them as the DW has a MDE and I have to link her but her DH and kids do not so we have trouble getting things set up and they don't get the need to schedule everything several months out. Sigh!! Wish we could go back to pulling paper FPs in the park.

 

[lauradis]

I really thought I would intensely dislike FP+ and complained rather loudly when I first found out details when we were planning our trip last summer. I went anyway, found out it's not the horror I had read about and that indeed it did work. There's nothing like first hand experience.

If you are convinced you won't like it, and no suggestions to alleviate some of your problems will work for you, why go? It's unfortunate, but you're left no choice. It would sound from your previous posts that your complaint is you're having to go less frequently due to price increases. Why go at all? It's a question that isn't meant to insult, but to figure out why someone would spend what it costs to go somewhere they liken to being hit over the head with a bat.

the big lines at GS which I refuse to stand in and Cm cringing when 2 out of 3 magic bands turned green at the check points for all three FP+ for day at MK. You got lucky

Or when 3 magic bands didn't work to enter the park at MK You got lucky

or when 1 magic band didn't work to enter the park at HS You got lucky

or after midnight when magic band didn't open the door but dd did. you got lucky

I have forgotten all the other small glitches from our Oct 2013 trip.


You cant say it work for everyone this last year and half because it simply didn't work flawlessly for everyone. You got lucky.

I like the system of FP+ for pure selfish reasons it works for my reformed commando touring style.

 

[Laketravis]

After reading threads on trip advisor on the things to do in Orlando( we have newbie friends going down and this is how I got to spend my Sat. night....lol) I think you can add to this that the "majority" also still doesn't know/understand how fp+ works. Interestingly one of the complaints of FP- was that most/many didn't get it. I was amazed to see how many don't get fp+. Comments like "you can book 3 in advance and only 1 more at the huge lines at the kiosk" , "onsite gets 30 days in advance and offsite at the park", or people who thought that it was a pay system etc. etc. etc. I would say that somewhere around 25% or more had something explained in error. Some loved, more hated but what stood out were the misconceptions and that imho is a real problem for Disney. In reality it is one thing to like/dislike something when you understand it but it was clear that there were so many who didn't get it at all (and by that I mean were flat out wrong in terms of how to use the system). I get that Disney is sending out emails to onsite visitors but the material is not working because the comments were both from on and offsite. I know this is not directly on point but just some interesting food for the fodder no matter which side of the love/hate relationship you're on.

I remember the negative feedback Disney got last year when they posted a marketing blurb about FP+ on their Facebook page. But after you posted the above I went and looked at some of the review sites for posts made this year. I know that "the DIS is just a tiny demographic and isn't representative of the general population" but I was surprised to see many of the same comments recently echoed across the internet on other review sites.

For instance:

"The FastPass+ seems like a wonderful system to allow visitors the power, the freedom, and the flexibility to select and reserve the rides one wants to enjoy in advance, but, in practice, it leaves a lot to be desired."

"The FastPass system also forces you to plan days and weeks, if not months, in advance. God help the lazy or the less organized souls!"

"Even if the app worked perfectly, I question the overall efficacy of such a system. In the old days, we just leisurely and sequentially strolled through the parks, enjoying the sights and sounds: the ambience of the parks. With the advent of the FastPass system, we have been scurrying from one event to another, all over the park, not being able to really fully enjoy or appreciate the experience."

(I thought the above was especially interesting in light of all the running-around-the-park-with-legacy-FP comments we see here)

"We are very disappointed with the fast pass option. The computers were down all day which we were not allowed to get 3 passes at once. We could only go back and get one fast pass at a time. AND, every time we try to get a pass we had to stand in line for at least a half hour + for the easy pass.. Which let us only get 3 rides in all day long which scattered the rides at least 3-4 hours apart. We never rode Space Mountain or Thunder Mountain because the lines were out of control and we could never get fast passes... It was a complete nightmare!"

"Plan ahead. I'm not kidding, if you try and wing it your vacation will be super disappointing. That means dinner reservations 180 days ahead and fastpass+ 60 days ahead."

"What I didn't like is that you can only plan 3 Fast Passes at a time. On the busier days, we could only get on our favorite rides once, where before we could ride them several times."

"I was truly disappointed by WDW. I expected more for the price"

Sounds familiar.


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[MrInfinity]

I have been turned away at the Lion King show. I was late. Oh well. As for the original post of liking FP+, I'm lovin it. We are seniors and go to breakfast. lunch and dinner. Its a vacation. not a marathon, although I've run a few of those. I like knowing I'm set for what I want. I can time things out and we tend to go at slow times and a lot of rides are/attractions are available with a very reasonable wait. And when we go with our grandkids, they would really rather spend time going down water slides that waiting in lines as well.

This is a very good point. Kids can be happy simply playing at the pool and beach, having done a shorter stretch at a park. It's just the parents really who feel like they need to maximize rides. Some of our best time is hotel time... at the CR and the Poly, the beach is awesome. Our kids would stay out there all night. Play, watch the water parade come thru, play some more. Parents get drinks and sit in lawn chairs by night, spend the mornings in the parks knowing we'll do in a shorter time what used to take longer thanks to FP+.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Going on memory, the mods, wisely IMHO, put an immediate stop to general complaining. Discussion for utilization of the program was permitted. Negativity regarding it was not because it is not helpful.

If they did happen, they were short lived due to that restriction. Spelled out in the information post specifically in fact: http://www.disboards.com/threads/wd...pdated-4-25-14-stamps-at-attractions.3178976/
A thread read like this on DAs would have been immediately extinguished.

That is different than the threads just not happening at all because people weren't upset about the change, which is the point I was responding to. There were a lot of people upset by the change. That the DIS moderating team shut down the threads does not mean the complaints didn't exist.

the *only* point of my response there was that people were in fact upset by that change, contrary to the post I first quoted. The point that was being made in both the post I quoted and mine had nothing to do with the actions of the moderating team, but whether or not people were upset about the DAS as they were about fp+. In fact, I'd say the fact that the DIS moderators *needed* to make a specific post saying they were no longer allowing th negativity/complaints indicates to me that the amount of complaints/upset was quite a lot in order to warrant a specific rule/course of action.

 

[cakebaker]

the big lines at GS which I refuse to stand in and Cm cringing when 2 out of 3 magic bands turned green at the check points for all three FP+ for day at MK. You got lucky

Or when 3 magic bands didn't work to enter the park at MK You got lucky

or when 1 magic band didn't work to enter the park at HS You got lucky

or after midnight when magic band didn't open the door but dd did. you got lucky

I have forgotten all the other small glitches from our Oct 2013 trip.


You cant say it work for everyone this last year and half because it simply didn't work flawlessly for everyone. You got lucky.

I like the system of FP+ for pure selfish reasons it works for my reformed commando touring style.

I have to tell you, I don't understand your post at all.

But I'll go with that I think you're saying and you're free to correct me.

I'm mostly confused because you're telling me I can't say things I didn't say so I don't see your point.

 

[tstottle]

Wow after reading through some of these posts I am worried. We have our first FP+ trip coming up in July. We too feel like we had a really good FP- system mapped out and didn't really wait in many lines much on our trips. I am really sad to hear that lines are longer now. Why is that? Because more people are using FP? We take short trips (2 days) due to cost and we will be quite disappointed if we can't do all of the things we used to do. Spreading things out through more days really isn't a financial option for so many people...I am sure there are many, like us, that maximize every day of park tickets we have by being in the park.

Anyway, I still have more research to do to get the best plan but I am now concerned. I would think that making FP+ for mid afternoon, when crowds seem to be highest, makes the most sense, but it sounds like our old strategy of being there at rope drop and enjoying low lines for the first 1.5 hours is not possible any more.

 

[prudence64]

Wow after reading through some of these posts I am worried. We have our first FP+ trip coming up in July. We too feel like we had a really good FP- system mapped out and didn't really wait in many lines much on our trips. I am really sad to hear that lines are longer now. Why is that? Because more people are using FP? We take short trips (2 days) due to cost and we will be quite disappointed if we can't do all of the things we used to do. Spreading things out through more days really isn't a financial option for so many people...I am sure there are many, like us, that maximize every day of park tickets we have by being in the park.

Anyway, I still have more research to do to get the best plan but I am now concerned. I would think that making FP+ for mid afternoon, when crowds seem to be highest, makes the most sense, but it sounds like our old strategy of being there at rope drop and enjoying low lines for the first 1.5 hours is not possible any more.

You'll be fine. RD and get a lot done. I'd aim for early afternoon for fps and then try to get more when used up.

 

[MrInfinity]

Yes, its my favourite part about Fuzzy, who tries to call out other people for hyperbole and any inaccuracy, and who basically tells people if they aren't getting the same amount out of FP+ they just don't use the system well enough... and yet they constantly bring up the supposed flaws of FP- such they spent too much time under the old system "running across the parks" or all the time they spent "standing in line to pull FP-"

Um... yeah... not sure why this type of response but... Call it whatever name you want. Poke whatever fun you want. You and I are now using the same system. However I am able to ride all the things I used to, and have a wonderful time at WDW. You seem to not be able to. Am I doing something different? Am I just lucky? Are you unlucky? Am I just more tolerant of not riding as much as I used to? Do I not know I'm not riding as much as I used to? Do you hold Disney to a higher standard than me? Is this all a dream, and I'll soon wake up to find out we're leaving for Disney World tomorrow, and I haven't had time to pick some fast passes in advance, and thus I'll have a miserable time and there is no point in going? Have I not consistently defended the case of those who do not like to plan, yet acknowledge that since I do like to plan, the system works fine for me -- it even caters to me -- and I happen to like that?

And for the record. Don't think I've ever used the word "hyperbole". Search away. That is a "I don't have a better response to you so I'll call your post this word" response and not an actual debate term I'd use. Maybe you think your own posts are such, and thus you figure surely I would have called them that? I dunno. Never used it. Don't think that of you, nor your posts.

I did point out the inaccuracy, that most guests do not spend half the price of a car, on a Disney vacation. I stand by that. If you would care to share your opinion on this, I'm happy to discuss.

 

[cakebaker]

I would think that making FP+ for mid afternoon, when crowds seem to be highest, makes the most sense, but it sounds like our old strategy of being there at rope drop and enjoying low lines for the first 1.5 hours is not possible any more.

With our style of touring, we have found rope drop to work very well. We schedule fp+ for the headliners in the afternoon, ride standby in the morning on the lesser rides and both trips at the MK especially, the rides were walk-ons and the park appeared empty. This lasted for at least the first 1.5 -2 hrs before we had to even think about lines.

We park hop, but that method would still work staying at the same park all day. I would never schedule fp+'s for the early morning hours. I think the newly found theory that rope drop doesn't work is pretty much 1 poster on this board.

Stand by lines have gotten a bit longer, but when you look at the facts from sites that have studied it, the increases are not huge. And for more popular attractions, they've actually gone down. Whatever the increase, it was so insignificant on our trips, I never noticed it one way or the other.

You'll get lots of comment no doubt telling you how awful it is, but the best approach I think is to plan your days as you're talking about and see how it works for you. Mostly, I wouldn't stress out over what you read here. It won't accomplish anything and only takes away from your vacation.